Going Great Guns

I left Pembroke Dock via the town trail, and in so doing, I saw rather more of the town than I had originally intended. All was going well until I came to the point where the path first leads off the road and into the fields. Looking over the gate and along the path, I could see that there were goats in the way! Now this was a new one on me. I have come across various animals on the path up to this point, and with them I know what to expect. For instance, cows are usually ok, but as I haven’t forgotten being chased last February, I am wary of them and try to keep my distance if at all possible. The same goes for horses, and sheep are fine as they just run away from you. But goats? I don’t know. I did know that I didn’t like the look of their horns, so I decided to play it safe and take the diversion by road. As a result, it took an hour to get to Pembroke.

After passing through Pembroke, another Welsh town totally dwarfed by its castle, the journey continued through Monkton and then followed the electricity pylons to the nearby power station. This theme continued as it was then round the oil refinery. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the same oil refinery I saw last June from Dale? From there I could see back to St Anne’s Head, where I was 3 months ago, and which was only 5 miles or so away across the water. I felt as if I was going in the wrong direction.

From heading East, the path round the peninsula sun turned west again, and I found myself walking round Angle Bay to Angle, a pleasant place, and a place which I decided would be a good spot to have a pub lunch. It is a nice village, and there was a village feel to it. There were people talking to each other outside the post office and a sense of community. OK, maybe that’s a bit of an idealistic view of the village, but it was nice to see.

I did have to wonder though, something which I have thought more than once on this coastal walk – am I likely to be passing this way again? I have passed so many lovely places since departing from Chester over 2 years ago, and so many times, I have thought “I must spend more time there one of these days”. Yet time has passed, and nearly all of these return visits have yet to take place. I still hope they will one day, but one thing I do know is that I am grateful for the opportunity to see some of the places and the scenery which the Wales coast path offers.

Fortified by fish and chips, the walk continued round Angle Head, then the coast path kicked in again, there were some pretty steep ups and downs to Freshwater west. One of the areas of the path, I was later to discover, has been nicknamed "The Giant's Toilet"!

The view of Freshwater west was quite something

From there, the last 3 miles or so were on the road to Castlemartin. Whilst walking along, I heard the sound of gunfire. I wasn’t alarmed – I had done my research, and I knew that this was close to an MOD firing range. More on that in tomorrow’s adventure!

I arrived in Castlemartin 5 minutes before the bus back to Pembroke Dock did!

Day 2

I drove to Freshwater East and then took the bus back to Castlemartin. Bus? It was a van. That’s public transport in the countryside for you!

I was unable to follow the coast path all the way, and had to take a diversion inland – the coast path was closed as the MOD were firing. Quite a lot of gunfire could be heard, but at least people are warned about it.

The diversion meant a lot of walking on roads, and the scenery was not exactly stunning - it was mainly fields fenced off with barbed wire and warnings of the dangers of military debris.

This diversion meant that I came to the village of Bosherston where it would have been rude not to stop for a coffee and scone. As I was applying an extra layer of sun screen to my arms (this is very unusual for Wales in September!), a guy seated at a nearby table came over and asked if I had been to St John’s. I puzzled over which St John's he meant for a moment, until he clarified – St John’s College, Nottingham. Well, I have visited the place, but never been enrolled as a student there. He remembered me from that week-long course I did there nearly 20 years ago, though as we got talking, it turns out that we do also know each other from “Easter People”.

The alternative coastal path and the official coastal path finally re-converge in Broad Haven. No, this is not the Broad Haven I was in 15 miles or so after leaving St Davids. There’s another one, and it’s in the same county. Confused? So am I. Oh well, back to the path and back onto the cliff-tops. Fair play, once on the top of the cliffs, the path stayed relatively flat. I was hoping that it would stay this way, but no, there were more ups and downs to come later.

From the tops, there were stunning views of Freshwater East just before arrival there. I stopped and ate a sandwich on the beach, then walked into the sea!